Armstrong Says He’s Been Made Scapegoat for Drug Use in Cycling

By Erik Matuszewski -
Jan 30, 2013

Lance Armstrong said he’s been made
into a scapegoat for drug use in cycling and that a truth-and-
reconciliation panel is the best way to clean up the sport.

Armstrong’s comments came in an interview published today
with Cyclingnews, his first since he told talk-show host Oprah Winfrey this month that he cheated by using performance-
enhancing drugs while winning all seven of his Tour de France
titles.

Armstrong, 41, said a truth-and-reconciliation commission
is “the only way” for cycling to move forward and that it
needs to be run by the World Anti-Doping Agency, with the
International Cycling Union having no involvement.

“As much as I’m the eye of the storm, this is not about
one man, one team, one director,” Armstrong was quoted as
saying by Cyclingnews. “This is about cycling and to be frank
it’s about all endurance sports. Publicly lynching one man and
his team will not solve this problem.”

Asked if he had been made “the fall guy” for the whole
sport, Armstrong was quoted as saying: “Actually, yes, I do.
But I understand why. We all make the beds we sleep in.”

WADA said yesterday that it wouldn’t cooperate with the
cycling body, known by its French acronym UCI, after the union
disbanded a commission set up to review its handling of the
Armstrong case. UCI spokesman Enrico Carpani declined to
comment.

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency said it fully supports a
“well-structured truth-and-reconciliation process in order to
clean up the sport,” yet also expressed skepticism about UCI’s
ability to independently review its own conduct.

Armstrong Fallout

Armstrong said he told UCI President Pat McQuaid “many
months ago” that a global truth-and-reconciliation commission
was cycling’s best solution. Armstrong was quoted by Cyclingnews
as saying all cyclists would have to be provided complete
amnesty, “otherwise no one will show up.”

In August, Armstrong was stripped of his Tour de France
titles and banned for life from competition by USADA for using
prohibited substances after he opted not to contest doping
charges in arbitration. He acknowledged in the interview with
Winfrey that he didn’t think he could have accomplished what he
did in the sport without doping.

The UCI was criticized for failing to act sooner. In
October, it set up a commission to investigate, among other
things, the relationship between Armstrong and the cycling body.
McQuaid said two days ago that the commission wouldn’t be able
to succeed without cooperation from WADA or USADA, whose
officials withdrew from the process two weeks ago over the UCI’s
refusal to grant witness amnesty.

Armstrong told Cyclingnews that the sport will continue to
suffer without a global reconciliation commission.

‘Zero Growth’

“First let me say that cycling will never die, it will
just simmer,” Armstrong was quoted as telling Cyclingnews.
“Zero growth. Sponsors leaving, races canceled -- this we are
seeing. This current state of chaos will just ensure that
cycling goes flat or negative for a decade plus. Which is a real
shame for the current crop of young pros the sport has.”

Armstrong said he’s been frustrated by the process that has
made him a scapegoat and insisted his generation was “no
different” than any other in the sport. He said cyclists have
sought an advantage for 100 years.

“The ‘help’ has evolved over the years,” Armstrong was
quoted as saying. “No generation was exempt or ’clean’. Not
Merckx’s, not Hinault’s, not LeMond’s, not Coppi’s, not
Gimondi’s, not Indurain’s, not Anquetil’s, not Bartali’s, and
not mine.”